Order Designating the Qikiqtait Marine Protected Area (SOR/2026-57)

Whereas the annexed Order designates the Qikiqtait Marine Protected Area in a manner that is not inconsistent with a land claims agreement that has been given effect and has been ratified or approved by an Act of Parliament;

Therefore, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans makes the annexed Order Designating the Qikiqtait Marine Protected Area under subsection 35.1(2)Footnote ^a of the Oceans ActFootnote ^b.

• Return to footnote ^aS.C. 2019, c. 8, s. 5

• Return to footnote ^bS.C. 1996, c. 31

Ottawa, March 20, 2026

La ministre des Pêches et des Océans, Joanne Thompson Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

Marginal note:Definitions

1 The following definitions apply in this Order.

Marine Protected Area

Marine Protected Area means the area of the sea that is designated in section 2. (zone de protection marine)

Nunavik Agreement

Nunavik Agreement means the land claims agreement between the Nunavik Inuit and Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada signed on December 1, 2006, including any amendments made to it. (Accord du Nunavik )

Nunavut Agreement

Nunavut Agreement means the land claims agreement between the Inuit of the Nunavut Settlement Area and Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada, signed on May 25, 1993 and tabled in the House of Commons for the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development on May 26, 1993, and includes any amendments to that agreement made under the agreement. (Accord du Nunavut)

Marginal note:Designation of Marine Protected Area

• 2 (1) The area of the sea in the Arctic Ocean consisting of a part of the waters of Hudson Bay — as described in field book FB44738 CLSR, certified on November 1, 2024 and depicted in plan 113359 CLSR, which are both deposited in the Canada Lands Surveys Records — is designated as the Qikiqtait Marine Protected Area.

• Marginal note:Seabed, subsoil and water column

  (2) The Marine Protected Area consists of the seabed, the subsoil to a depth of five metres and the water column above the seabed, including the sea ice, each of which is below the low-water line.

Marginal note:Ongoing activities

3 For the purposes of paragraph 35.1(2)(a) of the Oceans Act, the following classes of activities are ongoing activities in the Marine Protected Area:

• (a) hunting and trapping;

• (b) fishing;

• (c) harvesting marine plants;

• (d) constructing, dismantling, maintaining, repairing and using temporary structures on sea ice;

• (e) marine navigation;

• (f) national defence activities carried out by the Department of National Defence;

• (g) Canadian Coast Guard activities carried out by the Canadian Coast Guard;

• (h) tourism activities;

• (i) recreational activities;

• (j) educational activities;

• (k) traveling over sea ice using motorized vehicles and non-motorized methods;

• (l) Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and community-based research activities;

• (m) scientific research activities; and

• (n) filming and media content development.

Marginal note:Prohibitions

4 It is prohibited in the Marine Protected Area to carry out any activity — other than those that are part of a class of activities set out in section 3 — that disturbs, damages, destroys or removes from the Marine Protected Area any unique geological or archeological features or any living marine organism or any part of its habitat, or is likely to do so.

Marginal note:Non-application

5 This Order does not apply with respect to the exercise of rights of the Inuit as provided for in either the Nunavut Agreement or the Nunavik Agreement.

Marginal note:Coming into force

6 This Order comes into force on the day on which it is registered.